Health care is nearly 10 years behind other industries in its efforts to reduce the errors. Medication error may be nobody's baby, but when it happens, it could well turn out to be everyone's worry and the reasons given for medication error range from silly to the downright serious. The anticancer drugs are known to be mutagenic, teratogenic and carcinogenic, so extra precaution should be taken while storing, diluting, administering the drugs and disposing the waste. The objectives of this article are to define the standards for using cancer chemotherapy in hospitals; to tackle any spillage of drug and how to dispose of the waste of anticancer drugs. This could be beneficial to any hospital where chemotherapy is given without any defined standard operating procedure. The information furnished in this article is collected from the mentioned references and also from websites- The American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2002, www.cancer.org and www.cancersourceRN.com

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Tumours of the head and neck comprise an important group of neoplasia, the incidence of which is increasing in many parts of the world. This increase remains high, despite all the advances in modern medicine. This malignancy is more prevalent in the developing world and unfortunately, has not received satisfactory attention as the more prevalent cancers of the developed world, like lung, breast, or colon cancer. Recent advances in diagnosis and therapeutic techniques of these lesions have yielded novel molecular targets, uncovered signal pathway dominance and advanced early cancer detection. This review covers recent advances in our understanding of the etiology, molecular changes and the possible role that genomic and proteomic research might play in the diagnosis and effective cure of this modern-day scourge.

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Background: Cancer is second largest non-communicable disease and it has a sizable contribution in the total number of deaths. It is important for the public health professionals to understand the dynamics of cancer incidence for future strategies. Therefore, this paper is attempted with the objective of projecting number of cancer incidence for five cities namely, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Bhopal and Mumbai and to estimate the cancer mortality rate for all India for the year 2008. Materials and Methods: The data were used from the Indian Council of Medical Research's publication of Population-Based Cancer Registry for the year 1999-2000. The population was calculated from the Census reports of 1991 and 2001. Causes-specific mortality report by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence was used for estimating cancer mortality for all India. The age-specific rate method is utilized to project number of cancer incidence for the cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Bhopal and Mumbai and to estimate cancer mortality in 2000 for all India. Results and Conclusion: About 26.6% increase is expected in the registered number of cancer cases in these five cities and 52.68% increase is projected for Delhi which would mean highest number of cases in Delhi among these five cities within a span of eight years. And in Mumbai it is expected to have a marginal decline in the number of cases for the year 2008 (around -3.25%). The age adjusted analysis indicates that Mumbai is experiencing the higher incidence rate among the five cities studied herein. It is estimated about 50% cancer mortality is reported from the age group 55 and above years.

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Dietary behavior seems to be an important modifiable determinant for the risk of cancer. The evidences from several epidemiological studies suggest that higher intakes of fruits and vegetables have been associated with lower risk of cancer. Dietary phenolic and polyphenolic substances, terpenoids, dietary fibers, fish oils, some micronutrients present in foods of both plant and animal origin, and a reduction of caloric intake appear to inhibit the process of cancer development. Many dietary factors possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and cause induction of phase II enzymes like glutathione-S-transferases. It has been suggested that cruciferous vegetables play an important role in cancer prevention, and their chemopreventive effects are due to high glucosinolate content which under enzymatic hydrolysis produces bioactive compound isothiocyanates. Further, isothiocyanates of a wide variety of cruciferous vegetables are powerful inhibitors of carcinogenesis in experimental animal models. Several flavonoids present in fruits, tea, soya beans, etc. may be useful as cancer preventive agents. Similarly, ellagic acid, perillyl alcohol and resveratrol found in various fruits may have chemoprotective effect. Moreover, different vanilloids such as curcumin and gingerol have been shown to possess antioxidative properties. Nevertheless, in spite of several studies, still the effects of various ingredients are not clearly distinguished. In human, little convincing evidence has been established for the proposed protective effects of dietary constituents. It is an important future research goal to provide necessary evidences to support the chemopreventive role of different dietary factors, and also to clarify misunderstandings in this perplexing area.

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Background: The optimal treatment of maxillary sinus carcinoma remains to be defined and there is a paucity of Indian studies on the subject. Aims: To present experience of management of squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus treated with curative intent at a single institution. Settings and Design:Retrospective study of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus who presented between 1994 to 1999. materials and Methods:The records of 73 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus were analyzed. Sixty-two patients were evaluable. Forty patients (65%) were treated with surgery followed by postoperative radiotherapy, five patients (8%) were treated with radiotherapy alone, five patients (8%) were treated with surgery alone; 12 patients (19%) received chemotherapy. Statistical analysis used: Statistical analysis was done using Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The majority of patients presented with locally advanced disease (52, 84%); nodal involvement was observed in five patients (8%). The most common site of recurrence was at the primary site, which was observed in 28 patients (45%) and regional failures occurred in 10 (16%). The 3 and 5-year overall survival was 38% and 35% and the disease free survival was 29% and 26% respectively. The 5-year overall survival after surgery and postoperative radiotherapy was 42%. Conclusions:The majority of patients present with advanced disease resulting in poor outcomes to conventional treatment modalities. Locoregional tumor progression remains a significant pattern of failure. New approaches such as neoadjuvant or concomitant chemoradiotherapy with aggressive surgery need to be considered and evaluated in prospective studies.

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Chelates are used in cancer as cytotoxic agent, as radioactive agent in imaging studies and in radioimmunotherapy. Various chelates based on ruthenium, copper, zinc, organocobalt, gold, platinum, palladium, cobalt, nickel and iron are reported as cytotoxic agent. Monoclonal antibodies labeled with radioactive metals such as yttrium-90, indium-111 and iodine-131 are used in radioimmunotherapy. This review is an attempt to compile the use of chelates as cytotoxic drugs and in radioimmunotherapy.

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BACKGROUND : Early detection and multimodality therapy has resulted in an overall improvement of survival among breast cancer patients. Despite a significant shift in the treatment approach from radical mastectomy to breast conservation a significant number of patients develop lymphedema. This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for development of lymphedema. SETTINGS AND DESIGN : Retrospective analysis for prevalence of lymphedema in a tertiary care regional cancer centre. MATERIAL AND METHODS : Three hundred treated breast cancer patients with a minimum follow up of one year were evaluated for the prevalence and risk factors for lymphedema. Lymphedema was assessed using a serial circumferential measurement method. More than 3 cm difference in circumference is considered as clinical significant lymphedema. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed for evaluating the risk factors by using the Chi square test and Cox logistic regression analysis. RESULTS : The prevalence of clinically significant lymphedema was 33.5 % and 17.2 % had severe lymphedema. The prevalence of lymphedema was 13.4 % in patients treated with surgery only where as the prevalence was 42.4% in patients treated with surgery and radiotherapy. Stage of the disease, body surface area > 1. 5 m2, presence of co-morbid conditions, post operative radiotherapy and anthracycline based chemotherapy were significant risk factors in univariate analysis where as axillary irradiation and presence of co-morbid conditions have emerged as independent risk factors in multivariate analysis (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION : Post treatment lymphedema continues to be a significant problem following breast cancer therapy. Presence of co-morbid conditions and axillary radiation significantly increases the risk of lymphedema. A combination of axillary dissection and axillary radiation should be avoided whenever feasible to avoid lymphedema.

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Sentinel node localization is the second most important development in this century after conservative lumpectomy for the treatment of early breast cancer. The sentinel node mapping is a new multidisciplinary approach for staging of axilla in an accurate and less morbid way as compared to axillary node dissection. Sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with breast cancer has been adopted rapidly into clinical practice. The accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy is more than 95%, when performed meticulously (by an experienced multidisciplinary team) with proper patient selection. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is most widely used for both palpable and non-palpable T1 and T2 tumors. Recent studies show application of sentinel lymph node technique in patients with locally advanced breast cancer and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Therefore, sentinel lymph node biopsy technique has application in developing countries and other countries where screening for breast cancer is not common and most patients present relatively in advanced stage of the disease. Several aspects of the sentinel lymph node biopsy including technique, case selection, pathologic analysis and accuracy with supportive important studies published in the literature will be discussed in this review.

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The episodes of nausea and vomiting which follow each cycle of chemotherapy are the most troublesome side effect experienced by cancer patients. Introduction of ondansetron was a definite therapeutic advance in treating chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) with more effectiveness with corticosteroids. However, the protection remained largely limited to acute phase of CINV with little or no effect over delayed phase. Aprepitant, a drug that antagonizes the effect of substance P on neurokinin type 1 receptor showed promising results in controlling both phases of CINV. This drug is well absorbed orally with a t _max of about four hours. The addition of aprepitant to ondansetron and dexamethasone was found to be superior to ondansetron and dexamethasone alone in clinical trials with patients taking high and moderate emetogenic chemotherapy. This drug also showed a good safety profile, but its inhibitory effect on CYP3A4 may result in clinically significant drug interactions needing dose modifications of co-administered drugs. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for CINV recommends the use of aprepitant with high and moderately emetogenic anticancer drugs. Results of ongoing clinical trials with aprepitant and other agents of this new class of antiemetics are awaited and may alleviate the sufferings of cancer patients.

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BACKGROUND : The changes in lipid profile have long been associated with cancer because lipids play a key role in maintenance of cell integrity. AIMS : The present study evaluated alterations in plasma lipid profile in untreated head and neck cancer patients as well as patients with oral precancerous conditions (OPC) and its association with habit of tobacco consumption. MATERIAL AND METHODS : This hospital-based case control study included 184 head and neck cancer patients, 153 patients with OPC and 52 controls. Plasma lipids including: (i) Total cholesterol, (ii) LDL cholesterol (LDLC), (iii) HDL cholesterol (HDLC) (iv) VLDL cholesterol (VLDLC) and (v) triglycerides were analysed by spectrophotometric kits. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED : Student's t-test was performed to compare mean values of the parameters. RESULTS : A significant decrease in plasma total cholesterol and HDLC was observed in cancer patients (P=0.008 and P=0.000 respectively) as well as in patients with OPC (P=0.014 and P=0.000, respectively) as compared to the controls. The plasma VLDL and triglycerides levels were significantly lower in cancer patients as compared to the patients with OPC (P=0.04) and controls (P=0.059). The tobacco habituates showed lower plasma lipid levels than the non-habituates. Our data strengthen the evidence of an inverse relationship between plasma lipid levels and head and neck malignancies as well as OPC. CONCLUSION :The lower levels of plasma cholesterol and other lipid constituents in patients might be due to their increased utilization by neoplastic cells for new membrane biogenesis. The findings strongly warrant an in-depth study of alterations in plasma lipid profile in head neck cancer patients.

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BACKGROUND : In the absence of an effective cervical cancer screening programme, efforts are being made to explore the feasibility of using the existing infrastructure to develop effective low-cost screening methods. AIMS : To evaluate and compare test performance of visual inspection of the cervix by a doctor and a paramedical worker. SETTING AND DESIGN : Gynaecology outpatient department (OPD), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; cross-sectional study. MATERIAL AND METHODS : One hundred women with complaints of vaginal discharge, irregular bleeding, post coital bleeding or unhealthy cervix underwent visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and Lugol's iodine (VILI) by a doctor and nurse, followed by colposcopy and biopsy. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED : Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each test and compared. Concordance was determined by kappa statistics. RESULTS : VIA by nurse had a higher sensitivity (100% versus 87.5%), but lower specificity (53% versus 63%) when compared with the doctor, but it was not statistically significant. There was moderate agreement between their VIA findings (kappa=0.56). VILI findings were comparable to that of the VIA, both by the doctor and nurse. There was almost perfect agreement (kappa=0.89) between VILI by the doctor and nurse. CONCLUSION : Visual inspection can be performed reliably by trained paramedical workers and doctors and is an effective screening option in low resource settings.

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Context: Management of cervical lymph nodes metastases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from primary of unknown origin (PUO) is contentious and there is insignificant data from India on this subject. Aims: To present experience of management of these patients treated with curative intent at a single institution. Settings and Design: Retrospective study of patients treated between 1989-1994 in a tertiary referral cancer centre. Materials and Methods: Eighty-nine patients were evaluated in the study period and their survival compared with patients with common sites of primary in the head and neck with comparable node stage. Statistical analysis used: Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The clinical stage of the neck nodes at presentation was N1 in 11%, N2a in 28.5%, N2b in 22.5%, N3 in 35% and Nx in 3.4% patients. All patients underwent surgery and 70 patients received more than 40Gy postoperative radiotherapy. Twenty-nine (32.6%) patients had relapse of which 19 (21%) were in the neck. Postoperative radiotherapy did not influence the neck relapse (p=0.72). Primary was detected in 13 patients (14.6%) on subsequent follow up. The overall five and eight-years survival was 55% and 51% respectively. The overall five-year survival was better compared to patients with known primary with comparable node stage. Conclusions: Patients with cervical lymph nodes metastases of SCC from PUO have reasonable survival and low rate of development of subsequent primary when treated with surgery and radiotherapy. The overall survival is comparable to that of patients with known primary and hence an attempt at cure should always be made.

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BACKGROUND: Pan masala is a comparatively recent habit in India and is marketed with and without tobacco. Advertisements of tobacco products have been banned in India since 1st May 2004. The advertisements of plain pan masala, which continue in Indian media, have been suspected to be surrogate for tobacco products bearing the same name. The study was carried out to assess whether these advertisements were for the intended product, or for tobacco products with same brand name. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The programme of a popular television Hindi news channel was watched for a 24-h period. Programmes on the same channel and its English counterpart were watched on different days to assess whether the advertisements were repeated. The total duration of telecast of a popular brand of plain pan masala (Pan Parag) was multiplied by the rate charged by the channel to provide the cost of advertisement of this product. The total sale value of the company was multiplied by the proportion of usage of plain pan masala out of gutka plus pan masala habit as observed from a different study, to provide the annual sale value of plain pan masala product under reference. RESULTS: The annual sale value of plain Pan Parag was estimated to be Rs. 67.1 million. The annual cost of the advertisement of the same product on two television channels was estimated at Rs. 244.6 million. CONCLUSION: The advertisements of plain pan masala seen on Indian television are a surrogate for the tobacco products bearing the same name.

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OBJECTIVES : To study the hematologic and immunophenotypic profile of 260 cases of acute myeloid leukemia at diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS : This is a retrospective analysis of 260 cases of AML diagnosed at our institution between 1998 and 2000. Diagnosis was based on peripheral blood and bone marrow examination for morphology cytochemistry and immunophenotypic studies. SPSS software package, version 10, was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS : Seventy-six percent of our cases were adults. The age of the patients ranged from one year to 78 years with a median age of 27.2 years. There were 187 males and 73 females. The commonest FAB subtype, in both children and adults, was AML-M2. The highest WBC counts were seen in AML-M1 and the lowest in AML-M3 (10-97 x 10(9)/L, mean 53.8 x 10(9)/L). The mean values and range for hemoglobin was 6.8 gm/l (1.8 gm/l to 9.2 gm/l), platelet count 63.3 x 10(9)/L (32-83 x 10(9)/L), peripheral blood blasts 41.4% (5 to 77%) and bone marrow blasts 57.6% (34-96%). Myeloperoxidase positivity was highest in the M1, M2 and M3 subtypes. CD13 and CD33 were the most useful markers in the diagnosis of AML. CD14 and CD36 were most often seen in monocytic (38%) and myelomonocytic (44%) leukemias. Lymphoid antigen expression was seen in 15% of cases. CD7 expression was the commonest (11%). CONCLUSION : AML accounted for 39.8% of all acute leukemias at this institution. The most common subtype was AML-M2. Myeloperoxidase stain was a useful tool in the diagnosis of myeloid leukemias. CD13 and CD33 were the most diagnostic myeloid markers.

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BACKGROUND : Surgery is the treatment of choice for localized esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Despite curative surgical resection, the majority of patients develop local and systemic recurrence with poor 5-year survival. AIMS : To study the role of low dose continuous infusion (CI) 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in ESCC. SETTINGS AND DESIGN : A non-randomized prospective study conducted over a period of two years (1996-1998) in the Department of Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS : Twenty-two patients with ESCC were included in the study. Chemotherapy consisted of a continuous 30-day infusion of 5-FU (350 mg/m2 /day) and cisplatin (7.5 mg/m2/day), 5 days/week for 4 weeks. All patients had surgery following chemotherapy. RESULTS : A full course of chemotherapy was completed in 18 patients (82%). Chemotherapy was not completed due to non-compliance (n=2), thrombophlebitis (n=1), and vomiting (n=1). Grade-1 haematological and hepato-toxicity was observed in four patients. Thirteen patients developed thrombophlebitis. After chemotherapy, improvement in dysphagia was observed in 13 of 22 (59%) patients. Radiological partial response was observed in 8 patients (36.4%). 19 patients underwent surgical resection (86.4%) with zero mortality. Post-operative morbidity was observed in six patients (27%). Complete and partial pathological response was observed in two (11%) and one patient (5.5%) respectively. The overall median survival was 18 months and 4-year survival was 42%. CONCLUSIONS : Low dose CI 5-FU and cisplatin is well tolerated with minimal toxicity. Histopathological response rates and survival figures are comparable with the more toxic neoadjuvant chemotherapeutic regimens.

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Background: Visual inspection of cervix after application of acetic acid (VIA) is an effective screening tool for cervical cancer in low resource settings, but its low specificity leads to high referral rates. Adjunctive testing may overcome this drawback. Aims: This pilot study was aimed to assess test performances of VIA, human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and Pap smear, individually and in simulated combinations, to determine the probable best screening option. Setting and Design: Gynecology outpatient department (OPD); cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: One hundred women with complaints of irregular vaginal bleeding or discharge, post coital bleeding or unhealthy cervix on examination underwent Pap smear, HPV testing, VIA, colposcopy and biopsy, if indicated, in this screening order. Statistical Analysis: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each of the tests with a biopsy result of ≥HSIL taken as the gold standard. Simulated parallel and sequential combinations for VIA/Pap, VIA/HPV and HPV/Pap were calculated and compared with individual test performance. Results: Prevalence of abnormal Pap smears was 5%, VIA positive 51% and HPV positive 16%. Sensitivity and specificity of VIA were 100% and 53.3% respectively. For HPV and Pap tests corresponding figures were 85.7%, 89.7% and 50%, 98.9% respectively. The best simulated combination with a balance of sensitivity and specificity was of VIA followed by HPV testing (sensitivity 85.7%, specificity 95.4%). Conclusion: Addition of HPV testing to VIA can increase the specificity of VIA, thereby reducing the referral rates without compromising the sensitivity of the test.

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OBJECTIVES : To obtain baseline information about prevalence of tobacco use among school children in eight states in the North-eastern part of India. MATERIAL AND METHODS : A two-stage probability sample of students in grades 8-10 corresponding to 13 to 15 years of age was selected in each state and surveyed through an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS : Among the sampled schools, the school response rate was 100% in all states except Tripura (92%) and Meghalaya (96%). Among the eligible students, over 80% participated in the survey. Among the respondents, the proportion of boys ranged between 50% to 55%. Ever tobacco users ranged from 75.3% (Mizoram) to 40.1% (Assam). Over 65% of users reported initiation at 10 years of age or earlier in all states except Mizoram (23.1%). The range of current tobacco use (any product) was 63% (Nagaland) to 36.1% (Assam). Current smokeless tobacco use ranged from 49.9% (Nagaland) to 25.3% (Assam). Mizoram reported the highest current smoking (34.5%, mainly cigarette) and Assam reported the lowest (19.7%, again mainly cigarette). Current smoking among girls (8.3% to 28.2%) was also quite high. Over half of current cigarette smokers (53.2% to 96.3%) and a high proportion of current smokeless tobacco users (38.5% to 80.8%) reported feeling like having tobacco first thing in the morning. Only about 20% of students reported having been taught in school about the dangers of tobacco use, except in Mizoram (around 50%). Tobacco use by parents and close friends was positively associated with students' current tobacco use. CONCLUSIONS : Tobacco use including smoking was very high, even among girls, in all eight states in the North-eastern part of India. Signs of tobacco dependency were already visible in these students, more among those who smoked. In general schools did not educate students about the hazards of tobacco use.

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Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare and histologically diverse neoplasms. Recent results of various meta-analyses and development of newer drugs have changed the medical management of soft tissue sarcoma. This review gives an outline of chemotherapy and the newer targeted therapies for the same. We have carried out an extensive search in PubMed, Medline for almost all relevant articles concerning chemotherapy of soft tissue sarcoma. The available data from the literature is mainly composed of the most recent reviews, meta-analyses, phase II, and randomized phase III trials published in various peer reviewed journals and various international conferences. The role of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy has been found to be controversial. The recent meta-analysis for adjuvant therapy in STSs has shown an increase in the overall survival with combination of ifosfamide and adriamycin. In locally advanced and metastatic STSs, single agent adriamycin remains the basic standard of medication. The combination of ifosfamide and adriamycin may also be used for rapid symptom relief and in patients planned for curative resection for metastases. Newer combinations of docetaxel and gemcitabine appear promising in selected subgroups, especially in leiomyosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Some recent developments include the European Union's approval of trabectedin for advanced STSs patients who had progressed on adriamycin and ifosfamide therapy. The future of mTOR inhibitors, insulin like growth factor receptor inhibitors and anti-angiogenic drugs appear quite promising. Newer methodologies such as, Bayesian adaptive randomization and inclusion of newer end points like progression-free rate, time of progression rate, and tumor growth rate will improve the results of sarcoma trials. At the end of each section we have also presented recommendations from *European Society of Medical Oncology and **National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines v.1.2009 for better correlation with the present literature.

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Although vascular malformations of the tongue comprise a significant portion of head and neck angiodysplastic lesions, hemangioma of base of tongue is rare. We report a case of hemangioma of base of tongue extending to the supraglottis, which necessitated an extended supraglottic laryngectomy. Patient had an uneventful recovery and at three year, follow-up has a normal speech and no difficulty in swallowing or aspiration. More importantly, there was no recurrence of hemangioma or bleeding. Although hemangiomas may be treated by various conservative methods, occasionally patient may require surgical excision as in the present case due to the repeated bleeding episode and difficult access. A high index of suspicion and radiological investigations should be performed if the clinical presentation is atypical for malignancy, as in our case.

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Positron emission tomography (PET) is a diagnostic imaging technique that has progressed rapidly from being a research technique in laboratories to a routine clinical imaging modality. The most widely used radiotracer in PET is Fluorine18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F18-FDG), which is an analogue of glucose. The FDG uptake in cells is directly proportional to glucose metabolism of cells. Since glucose metabolism is increased many fold in malignant tumors PET has a high sensitivity and a high negative predictive value. PET with FDG is now the standard of care in initial staging, monitoring the response to the therapy, and management of lung cancer, colonic cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, esophageal cancer, head and neck cancer and breast cancer. Other indications of PET like bone tumor, ovarian cancer and cancer of unknown primary (CUP) has also been discussed in brief. The aim of this review article is to review the clinical applications of PET in various malignancies and only limited number of important studies will be discussed for this effort.

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Aims: To review the disease profile and treatment outcome of patients with primary skin malignancies treated at a regional cancer centre. Settings and Design: Surgical oncology unit of a tertiary care regional cancer centre. Evaluation of treatment outcome of patients with skin cancer from Surgical Oncology database was done. Materials and METHODS: Retrospective analysis of records of 77 patients with skin cancers treated between 1995 and 2002 was conducted. Profile of patients with skin cancer, surgical details including the management of primary tumour, regional lymph nodes and reconstructive procedures performed and survivals were analysed. Statistical analysis: All computations were done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-9). Descriptive statistics were calculated in a standard fashion and survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Skin cancers constituted 2.4% (77/3154) of patients with cancer treated in the surgical oncology department. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was the most common histological type (55.8%) followed by melanoma (26.1%) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC, 18.1%). Forty one percent of patients had undergone some form of intervention elsewhere before being referred. Reconstruction was required in 55.8% patients with large postresection defects. Regional lymph nodal dissection was required in 32.4% of total patients. Five-year median disease-free survival for the entire study population was 75%. Conclusions: Skin cancers constitute a small but significant proportion of patients with cancer. Unlike in the Western countries, SCC is the commonest histologic variety. Primary level inadequate intervention is very common. Optimal results can be obtained with radical surgery and optimal surgical margins along with a reconstructive procedure when needed.

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